Some point in the morning I began to stir awake, but was both comforted and confused by the sensation of a large warmth in front of me. Partially on me, too, strangely. I wasn't sure what it was, but I seemed to cling to it, myself. It wasn't a bad feeling, but unusual enough to make me slowly blink my eyes open.

When my vision cleared I was treated to an odd, soft field of white. It carried a familiar scent, though I couldn't quite place it. My head and face had been practically buried in it, the warmth from either that or something else making my hair sweaty. Attempting to move a little bit I was...held in place by something, probably whatever I was clung to. Even then, everything hurt in a weird, vague way-- my muscles were sore and my head was swimming, my mouth was oddly dry.

I tried to turn just enough to see what this was, finally freeing my snout from the soft white field. Pushing away just enough I could make out that it was a shirt, and one someone was still wearing. It was a...familiar shirt, too. Draped cross my upper arm was an arm I know I'd seen before, holding me close. My ears raked back and I slowly, very slowly looked up. From above my head Daniel looked back down to me, eyebrow raised in consternation but with a smile nonetheless.

"Howdy," he quietly said, his ears dropped low.

My eyes went wide as I gasped in shock, recoiling back hard enough to nearly fall off my bed. I would have if not for that big arm around me.

"Whoa, now, just take it easy," he said, holding me on the edge of the bed.

"...D...Daniel, what did--" I grabbed my head, holding it in pain. "What...What happened? What is this?"

"You said you're not a drinker during your appointment and I assumed you told the truth, so what's with the wine?" he asked.

"It was...a gift from Morissey for my...workload lately," I groaned, still holding my head. "Why...are you in my room?"

"I'll get to that in a minute," he awkwardly chuckled. "So, you don't drink...and do you have, uh, any idea about how much you had?"

"N-No, I just...drank from the bottle?" I tried to recall. "That was how I...I usually saw people consume it at home."

Daniel carefully pulled me closer so I wasn't stuck on the edge.

"Given the concentration I'd wager y'had about, geez, three or four drinks?" he said, looking to the bottle across the room. "You didn't drink all of that all at once, did ya?"

"...Uh--"

"That's what I was afraid of," he shook his head. "If you wanna dabble in alcohol I can show ya how to do so safely, but I really suggest not doing that again."

"...You don't have to tell me twice," I murmured.

"Let me guess-- headache, kinda dizzy, vaguely sore all over, really thirsty?"

"...Y-Yes?" I blinked. "How did--"

"Ah, welcome to hangovers," he laughed. "You're in luck; I can help you with that."

"U-Um--"

"Relax, Reverend, I was gonna suggest a nice breakfast," he said, getting up off the bed and taking a long stretch. "It's a weekend, anyway, and it looked to me like you didn't have much work left."

I pulled myself upright and sat with my arms wrapped tightly around my legs.

"...We didn't...do anything strange last night, did we?" I asked, barely audible.

"Reverend, for god's sake not only would that never cross my mind normally, you were basically blackout drunk," he said firmly. "I'm sorry if that wasn't the view you wanted to wake up to, but you, uh, didn't really leave me much choice last night."

"W-What!?" I cried. "What did I do?"

"Shh, calm down," he flinched. "I'll tell ya later, I need to check on Riv. Just, seriously, don't worry about it so much. I promise it wasn't what your head is tellin' ya."

Daniel quickly ran his fingers through his hair in a vain attempt to comb it before leaving my room. After a moment I tried to follow, but felt rather unsteady on my feet. I still needed to check on my child, so I pushed through it however I could. Pulling open the door it didn't seem to be much later than the usual time I might get up, which was a relief. The taller man walked with Riv to the bathroom, then turned back around to knock on Kuri's door. I figured the conversation was private so I hung back by my door. The most I could interpret from here was Kuri's head shaking and Daniel seeming to say "just keep watching". What this was about, I really couldn't say.

When Riv came back out Daniel walked in to check on his symptoms. He walked back out and nodded to me, seeming to hint at improvement. Realizing just how badly I, too, needed to go I quickly walked in to relieve myself. I met up with both just outside the bathroom and we both escorted the child back to his room, sitting him on his bed so his temperature could be taken.

"I wanted to tell ya last night that his fever's been comin' down," he said, holding the thermometer under Riv's tongue. "It's gettin' better, slowly but surely, as this kind of infection typically goes."

Once the metallic line stopped moving he read the temperature.

"Seems this much is back to normal now, kid," he smiled, cleaning off the mouthpiece. "No more blood in the toilet, either. Prob'ly still feel a bit off, though, so we'll baby your stomach another day and see how tomorrow goes. How's the cramps and nausea?"

"Not so bad anymore," Riv said, rubbing his small belly. "Just a little bit, sometimes."

"So if I throw ya over my shoulder ya won't puke down my shirt, is what you're saying," Daniel said, standing up and hoisting the child up as well. "Guess we'll have to see."

Riv giggled as the two of them walked out of the room, my following closely behind. I wished so much I had the strength to carry him around like that, like how Daniel and Kuri could, but I was just too small. Seeing those bright eyes clearing out of their sick fog was enough to tickle my heart, even through this dizzy headache.

The three of us descended the stairs and invaded the lounge. Daniel was awfully bent on doing something for breakfast; supposedly it would help whatever was ailing me. Well, I guess I had no reason to distrust him and he sounded like he had experience with this already.

Fishing through the dishes he poured me a tall glass of water and handed it to me.

"Start with this," he said. "A lot of that head fog ya got comes from dehydration. Ethanol's great at pulling all the water outta ya, which I'm sure you noticed in the bathroom this morning."

I choked a bit on my drink.

He tried to stifle his laughter as he resumed looking for the pans he'd need for this morning.

"Goin' to make something I haven't made in a while, kinda lookin' forward to it," he thought aloud, grabbing the eggs from the icebox and setting them aside. "First things first, though."

I tilted my head as he grabbed a saucepan and added some water, setting it on the stove to heat up. He added a small amount of salt to the water before acquiring a couple cups of rolled oats. I'm not sure when we even got that.

"Hey, kid," Daniel started, opening the icebox. "You like maple syrup? I got some recently."

"What's that?" Riv asked.

Daniel grabbed the jar and popped the lid, pouring a small amount on a spoon for him to try. Riv was quite surprised and appeared to really like it.

"It's a liquid ya get from boiling down and concentrating the sap from maple trees," he answered, taking back the spoon and setting the jar on the counter. "Bit harder to find here, but luckily I found some. If you like it I'll put it in your breakfast, too."

"Please?" he squeaked.

"Sure," he said, mussing Riv's already-messy hair. "Nice to see ya feelin' better."

From the loaf of bread he cut a few slices and set them on a plate. In a bowl he cracked open the eggs and beat them heartily until they were as mixed as they could be. Grabbing a banana he cut it in quarters and coated the pieces in brown sugar and cinnamon. He then turned on the stove and dropped some butter in the pan, letting it heat up. I wasn't sure where this could be heading.

Once the butter was melted and bubbling he coated two of the bread slices with the beaten egg and added them to the hot pan. I curiously watched from the bench, feeling a bit better from the glass of water. After a short time he flipped the toast and the water in the saucepan had begun to simmer, so he added the rolled oats and occasionally stirred.

When the toast was cooked through he slid them onto a plate and added the coated bananas. He went between both pans until the bananas were fried, the sugar caramelized and fragrant. He topped the first round of toast with the bananas and drizzled the maple syrup over the whole thing. With everything finished he handed me the plate and I just stared at it.

"Not sure what it is, but there's a thing with heavy foods like this workin' well against hangovers," he shrugged. "Dunno if there's anything actually behind that claim, but if nothing else it's a nice breakfast. Give it a try."

I set the plate on the bench and cut into the food with my fork, trying to get a bit of everything in one scoop. Bringing it to my mouth I took the bite, chewing into a soft, sweet mass. It was similar to pancakes, but softer and denser and the fried bananas on top were very soft with a hard sugar shell. I hadn't eaten anything quite like this before.

"French toast, nothing too special," Daniel said, stirring the oats on the stove. "Still pretty good and has a bit of everything you might want to get over what ya got into."

"...It's very good, Daniel," I said after swallowing. "...Thank you."

I think he picked up on the hesitation in my voice because he turned back to me just slightly and his motions seemed to slow. He continued to stir the oats, finally pouring them into a bowl. Getting some milk from the icebox he poured in a small amount before adding brown sugar and the maple syrup, stirring everything in until mixed.

"Alright kid, hopefully this is a nice break from the usual," Daniel said as he set the bowl in front of Riv, along with a banana. "Should still be gentle enough on your guts."

Daniel got to work making his own breakfast, the same as mine. He'd frequently look back to me, making sure I was still eating and he seemed pretty aware that something was bothering me. A few times he'd pat my head just to reassure me before sitting down and eating with the rest of us. Awkward as it might be, I still preferred this over the idea of his absence, smiling shyly as he ate with us.

It was a nice weekend, so we humored taking Riv outside on a walk through the back yard. Keeping him locked up inside was awful for everyone involved, Riv especially, so it was nice getting him out and about even if he wasn't quite completely recovered yet. We spent much of the day outside, eating our lunches and enjoying the pleasant sea breeze. From the nice breakfast, the water, and the fresh air I felt a lot better, myself.

Come evening we had dinner together, Daniel making food for he and I as I made something for Riv. For the sick boy I made a nice pot of that chicken soup he liked, making enough to reheat tomorrow for lunch. He seemed to appreciate the latest foods quite a bit after several days of fairly bland toast and crackers, and I couldn't say I blamed him. Daniel fried both of us up some pork loin cuts topped with honey and a side of potatoes, my putting some of the potatoes in Riv's soup as a nice addition. He seemed to like it, so I'd keep that in mind.

After dinner was done and cleaned up we all headed upstairs. I parted from the other two for a short time so I could get back to my work, wanting to get everything done sooner rather than later and there wasn't much left to go so it shouldn't take too long. Grabbing my pen and getting to work it only took about an hour to finish everything up. I'm sure much of this was due to the care and food, and as much as it was...weird to admit, I slept very well last night.

I thought back to that one, tapping the back of my pen against my desk and staring off into space with a furrowed brow. I sighed and put my finished work away, wanting to just not see any of this monochrome sea for at least a full day. With that over and done with I went out to meet Daniel in the staff room, where he and Riv quietly read. When I opened my door I was leered at by some of the night staff down the hall, my glaring back until they got the message and turned away.

I walked past the staff room, holding up my pointer finger while passing Riv and Daniel on my way to Kuri's room. After a few soft knocks the large man answered, looking down to the staff room and then back to me.

"Kuri, have you seen anything unusual up here lately?" I asked. "I'm sorry if it's a strange question, but I've just got a funny feeling."

"Daniel actually asked last night if I'd be willing to watch up here overnights instead of heading outside, so I've started doing that," he replied. "I'm gonna actually see if I might be able to get a slightly different shift so I can sleep in the afternoons and be up while y'all are in bed."

"Oh, please, you don't have to do that--"

"Nah, I want to," he reassured. "The three of you have been real nice and it's not like I'm paying for more than my food and utilities. I'd like to be better help if there's a way."

"...Well, please don't feel obligated to do something like that, is all," I responded. "I don't want to pressure you into changing anything like this just for us."

"Reverend, I assure you it's something I just want to do," he chuckled, patting my head. "Please don't worry about me, I'll be fine. Like I told Daniel-- if I see or hear anything amiss, it'll be taken care of."

"...Well, thank you very much, Kuri. I feel much safer with you here and I'm sure Riv and Daniel do, too."

"It's no problem, and I'll be up all night if you need me."

Walking back to the staff room I noticed he'd started keeping his door only loosely closed, assuming to get a better eye and ear for the staff roaming the halls. His presence here was a massive reassurance, though it did make me a bit sad that we'd possibly see him less should he get a morning shift soon.

Ah, well, it's his choice and one I should respect.

The three of us spent our evening in the nearby staff room, passing time with reading, drawing, and idle conversation. Riv and I would grab a book around Riv's reading level and pass around sentences to read aloud, a pastime the child seemed to enjoy. To help him catch up on some schoolwork Daniel and I put together a small set of simple math problems to solve. Soon we'd get into some more difficult math, but I think he'll be alright with that since the rules don't really change from here.

Daniel took note of my writing as I prepared my part of the problems.

"You have very nice handwriting, ya know," he said. "Must be one of the reasons they like your work so much."

"Oh...thank you," I quietly said. "I had, um, at one point considered looking into calligraphy."

"I think you should!" he exclaimed. "I wouldn't mind getting some supplies for ya to try it out."

"N-No, that's--"

"Please, I insist. I think you could use a hobby besides working."

"...Maybe."

I finished my part before giving them to Riv and helping him solve through everything.

After a few hours it was time to take Riv to bed. Daniel and I said our goodnights, ensuring the door was closed as we walked back down the east wing. Opening my door I went to retreat to my room, but a hand above my head pushed the door open further. I looked behind me and up to see Daniel looking down at me, his expression soft but troubled.

"Let's talk."

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